Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
CHRIST'S GOSPEL: ALWAYS RELEVANT, ALWAYS UP-TO-DATE
There are benefits that people may derive from other counterfeit gospels that are being preached in the world. The social gospel (which is concerned chiefly about improving the lot of the people on earth and accomplishing things like alleviating physical suffering and helping the poor and needy) has its benefits. A law-oriented message that urges people to live morally upright lives, to be honest, law-abiding citizens, has its positive points. People who live right and do right often enjoy the benefit of winning the respect of others and currying their favor. Not having to do time in jail for breaking the laws of the land is certainly a good thing.
But none of these other gospels has power to save souls from their spiritual poverty or cure them of their dreadful sin-sickness or deliver them from the devil's dastardly domination or redeem them for an eternity of happiness and peace with their Savior in heaven. Only the true Gospel of the Crucified One has the power to accomplish these extraordinarily wonderful things.
Someone may say: "The message of a crucified Savior giving His life on a cross for sinners isn't relevant for our modern day. We need to update our message and modify it." Let us not be taken in by such talk. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Gospel of Christ is always up-to-date. Why? Because our spiritual need never changes. No matter what stage of life we're in (young, middle-aged, elderly), no matter what strata of society we belong to (lower, middle, upper), what we need to know above all else, what we crave to know in our heart of hearts above everything else, is that we are not under the curse of the law. And that when we stand before our holy God on Judgment Day He is going to welcome us with open arms, for Jesus' sake. It's the same need Adam and Eve had 6,000 years ago, which Abraham and Sarah had 4,000 years ago, and which Paul and the Galatians had 2,000 years ago.
